Waterfront 1936

Stow Wengenroth made this lithograph print called 'Waterfront'. It's a scene of sheds, boats, masts, and long grass, all rendered in shades of gray. I imagine Wengenroth standing there, squinting at the scene, making marks that feel both precise and expressive. It makes me think about a different kind of attention, a kind of deep looking. Wengenroth really hones in on tonal values and textures; he really wants you to feel the stillness and quiet in this scene. Look at the way he captures the texture of the wooden planks and the subtle gradations of light. And the sky! It feels so heavy, so charged with a sense of foreboding. Maybe Wengenroth was thinking about the relationship between humans and nature, or maybe he was just trying to capture the feeling of a particular place at a particular moment. Whatever the case, there is a lot of emotion packed into this work. The dark and stormy scene recalls the work of Winslow Homer, another marine artist. In this way, art becomes a conversation across time.